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Questions tagged [italian]

For questions relating to both the English and the Italian language. For questions purely about Italian, visit our sister site Italian Language Stack Exchange.

0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Translate the term "Idoneità concorsuale" from Italian to English

I am trying to translate the term "Idoneità concorsuale" or "Idoneità concorso pubblico" from Italian to American English. In Italy, in many competitions related to public ...
Gianni Spear's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
1k views

What's the English equivalent of the Italian 'sputare nel piatto dove si mangia'?

There's an Italian expression, 'sputare nel piatto dove si mangia', that literally means 'to spit on the plate where you eat', but really means: to have an attitude of contempt, of strong criticism ...
user6376297's user avatar
6 votes
11 answers
2k views

Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)

What's an English word/verb for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution"? In Italian, we use tamponare (same as to dab in English) for this usage. ...
DDS's user avatar
  • 169
1 vote
1 answer
115 views

Why is semibreve commonly pronounced as ˈsɛm iˌbriv?

I am seeing this on some dictionary sites: / ˈsɛm iˌbriv, -ˌbrɛv / But, I've only heard it (in Anglophone musical contexts) as ˈsɛm iˌbriv. I wasn't aware about a cafe breve until yesterday. This ...
ljs.dev's user avatar
  • 133
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is there a good equivalent for the Italian proverb "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco"?

One of my favorite Italian sayings is Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco (literally "Not all donuts come out with holes"). It usually gets a smile from another Italian speaker, ...
DjinTonic's user avatar
  • 22.1k
5 votes
1 answer
954 views

How did English pepperoni come to mean something entirely different from Italian peperoni?

The Italian word peperoni (plural for peperone) is a vegetable known in English as bell pepper: Source: Matti Paavonen, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA The English word pepperoni (singular) is a form of ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 2,273
6 votes
1 answer
164 views

A single word for turning something Italian?

I’m looking for an equivalent to “Anglicize”, essentially, but “Italicize” has an existing definition that seems to refer exclusively to typefaces, which complicates things. For instance, it sounds ...
nemesi5's user avatar
  • 61
3 votes
2 answers
105 views

How to translate "rapporto bancario"?

In Italian, we use "rapporto bancario" as a generic word for any "banking relationship" you have with your bank, like a banking account, a mortgage, a loan, you name it. Is "banking relationship" a ...
CarLaTeX's user avatar
  • 537
3 votes
1 answer
687 views

What made “gusto” popular?

Gusto is a foreign term which the English language appears to have borrowed twice: 1620s, "very common from the beginning of the 19th c." [OED], from Italian gusto "taste," from Latin gustus "a ...
user 66974's user avatar
  • 67.5k
10 votes
2 answers
567 views

The “prickmouse” and the “butcher's broom”

I sometimes go for walks in the wood near where I live; and in the undergrowth, beneath the oaks and pines, you'll find an evergreen prickly shrub which is called pungitopo in Italian. The word is ...
Mari-Lou A's user avatar
  • 91.9k
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Possible Italian origin for English expressions "easy peasy" and/or "easy breezy"?

I was watching Rachael Ray and she was making risotto with peas which she said is the first solid food for many Italian children. She was also trying to dispel the notion that risotto is hard or ...
C. Griffin's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
815 views

Is this grammatically correct? "Us with You" [closed]

Is this slogan correct?: "Us with You" "With You To Win Every Challenge" It's from an Italian website translated to English. Sounds a little strange to me.
Loretta Huether's user avatar
34 votes
11 answers
6k views

Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?

In Italy we say "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!" (= don't compare gold to tin!) when someone compares a (concrete or abstract) high-value thing to a low-value one. For example: Joe: "LaTeX è ...
CarLaTeX's user avatar
  • 537
4 votes
2 answers
501 views

What rules govern uniform mispronounciation of romance languages? [closed]

As someone who isn’t a native speaker of English, I’m often fascinated by how those who are seem to change the pronunciation of words originally from French, Italian, Spanish, and so on in a seemingly ...
Christofer Ohlsson's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
14k views

What is the word for the gesture when someone takes three fingers and kisses it into the air?

You often see this with Italians, especially when complimenting some food they just ate, but it has evolved into a more universal gesture. Take the thumb, index, and middle finger, gather them ...
rbp's user avatar
  • 215

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